Mountainbikes on roads

[wedg1e]

Enough said

[moleamol]

Que?

[andy mac]

So in conclusion..Little skinny town bikes are better for the town, and mountain bikes are better for mountains... Well I'm glad we've cleared that one up...

[moleamol]

You can hop on and off kerbs and slalom round traffic better on a mountainbike

[andy mac]

I used to have a racer (an old milk cup one), and it was the scariest thing to go round corners on!

[moleamol]

andy mac said:

I used to have a racer (an old milk cup one), and it was the scariest thing to go round corners on!

Well bikes is my business and the new high end road bikes (racers) are all carbon affairs, even down to the cranks, bars, stems and gear mechanisms. They weigh about 15lb all in and get ridden at 50+mph quite a bit. Scary stuff indeed wearing only lycra.

I prefer to stick to downhill/freeride/street mountain biking. Feels better doing 50mph over drop offs and roots

>> Edited by moleamol on Tuesday 13th September 01:16

[andy mac]

I've got a poxy schwinn bike. Light enough, and fine for pootling about the hiking trails by me. I even bought a poxy schwinn tool to fit under the seat, should I ever need to whittle wood, or use the alan key for some furniture at home!

[lord summerisle]

aye much perfer 2.35 tyres to the razer wire slicks on road bikes..

tho i try and avoid roads - scary things

[mutt]

Have you seen the state of London roads ... I go offroading every day and never once leave the tarmac!

[tollytuff]

yep, used to cycle up the old kent road in south london every day on a mountain bike. have you seen the size of the pot-holes?? and i would hate to get a front wheel of a racer down some of the huge drainholes, you'de never get out!

[up-the-dubs]

Yes. Mountain bikes do indeed rule. Plus you can suffer much bigger crashes and just jump back on and cycle away. Depending on your knee. Which at the moment, mine hurts pretty bad.

[williamp]

What the Uk needs is a Grifter for grown-ups. Now that was a proper bicycle...

[MilnerR]

Do the lycra clad racing bike riders look on mountain bikers on the road in the same way many car drivers look on people in 4X4s on the road?

"look at that idiot, he's spent £1500 on a poncey mountain bike and the nearest its been to off road is the pavement!" etc etc....

[alfaman]

I have both an old road bike and a mtn bike - but now only use the mtn bike for both on and off road riding - much more comfortable , less jarring for the arse and wrists , better with potholes , less chance of a puncture.

[andy mac]

Did anyone see Monkey Dust, and the cyclists in that? Was very funny!

[Harry Flashman]

Actually, I am trading my hybrid/racer in and going back to commuting on a mountain bike. In a year of having the racer, I have broken several spokes, had loads of punctures and my wrists are a wreck. The reason? The shocking state of our capital's roads. And it's far more dangerous swerving to avoid potholes (nightmare for car drivers following us cyclists when we veer out for ostensibly no reason, without having indicated) than simply crashing strainght through them.

And also, you can jump a mountain bike - that was so much fun; getting air off the kerb when getting off the South Bank towpath and back onto the road.

And man, I miss disc brakes, especially in the wet. Roadie race brakes are rubbish, especially when emergency stopping due to some idiot opening a door on you/pulling left in front of you etc.

And, most tellingly of all, my 9 mile journey, after swapping to a racer, is only 5 minutes quicker now. Why? Because of traffic lights. No matter how quickly you are going, waiting for minutes at lights kills any speed advantage that a racer/hybrid has over a mountain bike.

And I can't take the racer off at weekends and ride trails.

So - for sale, one Ridgeback Genesis Day 03 with full Dura Ace groupset. Will replace with a decent Cannondale hardtail MTB with Lefty shock and decent disc brakes.

Commuting in London? Lightweight, disc equipped small framed mountain bike, on slicks, every time.

Conclusion? Chap who posted this thread? Probably never cycled more than 2 miles through a town, in traffic, ever. Probably a fatso.

[Harry Flashman]

MilnerR said:

Do the lycra clad racing bike riders look on mountain bikers on the road in the same way many car drivers look on people in 4X4s on the road? "look at that idiot, he's spent £1500 on a poncey mountain bike and the nearest its been to off road is the pavement!" etc etc....

They possibly used to think of me like that as they zoomed past me in my ragged cut-off combats and T-shirt on my old Jump Bike.

Worthwhile trade off for the slack-jawed looks you get when getting several feet of air off the NT steps on the South bank or when kicking off the kerb on the way home, though.

I've been promising to trade in the racer for ages; this thread has given me the push to get it done.

[Harry Flashman]

They wouldn't have broken the mountain bike with that escapade, Bedford old chap.

Mind you, he had a higher probability of putting himself in hospital when riding my racer down the stairs, so one should give thanks for small blessings, eh?

[FrenchTVR]

I have a variety of road and time trial bikes, but I have just been having a conversation with a mate who is considering using a bike for commuting into London, and I have to admit, I would choose a hybrid mountain style bike for that.
As previously mentioned, mostly because of the shocking state of the roads, and also you can hop the kerbs etc better to get out of the way of blind w**kers in cars and vans

[406]

I have a Claud Butler Olympus XTR. Had it 6 months and done 18 miles on it. It only cost £899